ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A British maritime monitor early Friday reported an outbound vessel “on fire” in the Strait of Hormuz, marking the fourth reported vessel set ablaze in a 24-hour period. Iranian forces cited mines, a day after the US military said it cleared key routes through the waterway.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization (UKMTO) early Friday said it received a report of an incident 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman, in which a third-party reported an outbound transiting tanker on fire.
“The tanker was approached on the port side by a small boat which attached two explosive devices to the hull above the waterline. The subsequent blasts resulted in a fire in the engine room which temporarily disabled the vessel,” the monitor said.
The incident follows a report hours earlier of a vessel “on fire” in the same location and preceding reports of a tanker “struck by a projectile,” a dhow on fire 9 nautical miles north of Khasab, and another unknown vessel on fire. All incidents occurred on Thursday and were reported in a 24-hour period.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy announced in a statement on Thursday that "during the past 24 hours, three tankers, while passing through the unauthorized southern route of the Strait of Hormuz, exploded and caught fire after hitting a mine and were abandoned on the southern shores of the Strait of Hormuz,” state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
Another tanker had caught fire east of the strait, after hitting mines while “operating in a restricted and dangerous area,” Iran's army reported later Thursday.
Iran in recent weeks has reported multiple vessels striking sea mines, claiming vessels were stuck while they reportedly “turned off all their radar and navigation systems … and ignored the warnings of the IRGC Navy.”
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) reaffirmed on X on Wednesday that “all internationally recognized primary transit routes through the Strait of Hormuz have been cleared of sea mines by U.S. forces and remain so,” and that “thousands of commercial vessels have safely used the transit lanes and continue today.”
Iranian strikes on ships in the Strait of Hormuz have surged significantly since the start of October, with at least 30 vessels reported and confirmed since Monday, marking the month with the highest number of incidents since March, according to the Washington Institute.
The incidents come amid reported mediation efforts between Washington and Tehran to ease months-long tensions following the regional war that erupted in late February, with Qatar facilitating talks between the two sides as a US naval blockade in effect since mid-July drains Tehran's floating oil inventory to zero.
Donald Trump and Washington have repeatedly claimed that hostilities against Iran might resume after the midterm elections.
Speaking to Rudaw on Wednesday, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz conveyed that Trump has “all options on the table.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday described Iran's predicaments under Operation Economic Outcast as “the tip of the spear,” reiterating that Tehran is “isolated” and running out of lifelines, and that its proxies are feeling the pressure as the regime struggles to move money and the IRGC is reportedly failing to pay its own troops.
